Baking Recipes,  Brownies & Bars,  My Favourite Ingredients

These Peanut Butter & Kahlua Brownies are the bomb!

These Kahlua Brownies are chocolatey and fudgy, with delightful coffee and peanut butter notes. This is a great way to level up your brownies!



Despite the slow start I’m having in terms of regularizing my posting schedule for the blog, I’m adamant about writing about these Peanut Butter & Kahlua Brownies. These brownies are almost hypnotic, with those psychedelic patterns of peanut butter on top. But really, what’s hypnotic about them is the taste.

I almost halved this recipe when I made it, because it fills a huge 9 by 13-inch pan and that’s a lot of Peanut Butter & Kahlua Brownies for a household of six. But because I was trying very hard to finish this bottle of Kahlua we have at home, I shrugged and went ahead with the whole yard of it. To say that I’m glad I did would be an understatement.

These brownies need to be in your mouth.

Right now.

I came across these brownies a while back from the Handle The Heat blog, and I was drawn to it because of the composition: chocolate + peanut butter + coffee + coffee liqueur. I mean, how does something like that NOT be good?

These Peanut Butter & Kahlua Brownies have an awesome fudge-like texture, and you get all the flavors I mentioned above in every glorious bite you take. It’s definitely a level up from the typical brownie that’s just all chocolate. It makes a good party recipe too because it yields a lot!

I was both happy and sad about making so many brownies at once. Happy because I had enough to send over to my gramma’s house for her to try; and sad because I don’t possess the sweets-driven palate that would make me want to stuff myself with these wonderful Peanut Butter & Kahlua Brownies. Sometimes, not having a sweet tooth can be a shame.

Recipe notes

There isn’t anything complicated about this recipe. Technically it’s a one-bowl recipe, except I guess for the saucepan needed to boil the Kahlua. During the part you’re working with the wet mixture, you have to make sure you mix everything very very well together.

The resulting mixture should look a lot like a big bowl of smooth melted chocolate. Make sure to take a second and breathe in all the scents of peanut butter, coffee, and Kahlua wafting up from the mixture.

The tricky part is once again when you add in the dry ingredients. You have to fold in the flour and the other dry ingredients with a spatula, BUT you have to be wary of overmixing. It’s pretty much the same thing for most baking recipes. Make sure you mix just until the last clump of flour is gone, and stop! Dig your spatula down to the bottom of the bowl as you fold so that things get mixed around with the least number of folding needed.

If you find some small streaks of flour or chopped chocolate peeking out through the mixed batter, don’t worry too much about it. Working the batter around too much once the flour is incorporated messes with the resulting texture of the baked good. You especially want this one to stay fudgy. It’s just more enjoyable that way!

After you pour the batter into the pan, drop the dollops of peanut butter on top. The trick to getting some nice swirls is not to overdo it. Run a knife through the peanut butter dollops in every each direction, but not to the point where the top becomes entirely covered with the peanut butter.

Once baked, the swirls almost look like marble patterns set on top of the chocolate. I love the way that it kind of lifts itself from the chocolate parts of the brownie. If there’s one thing I love more than a crusty brownie top, it’s a beautifully swirled one!

Peanut Butter & Kahlua Brownies

These Kahlua Brownies are chocolatey and fudgy, with delightful coffee and peanut butter notes. This is a great way to level up your brownies!

Makes one 9x13-inch pan of brownies

Ingredients

  • cup good-quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee or espresso powder
  • ¾ cup Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
  • 57 grams 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1/4 cup ½ stick unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup peanut butter, divided use
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 170 grams 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on two sides to help unmolding easier later on. Grease the parchment and any part of the pan that is not covered by the parchment.
  • 2. In a small saucepan, heat Kahlua just to a boil. In a large bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and espresso powder. Once the Kahlua is ready, pour it over the cocoa-coffee mixture and whisk until smooth.
  • 3. Add in chopped unsweetened chocolate, then whisk until melted and combined. Whisk in melted butter, vegetable oil, and 1/2 cup of the peanut butter until fully incorporated.
  • 4. Now add in eggs, vanilla, and sugar. Whisk until smooth. Switching to a spatula, fold in flour, salt, and chopped chocolate until just incorporated.
  • 5. Pour batter into prepared pan. If the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter is too stiff, heat it in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds until it loosens to something you can drip from a spoon. Drop dollops of the peanut butter onto different parts of the batter, then swirl it in using a skewer or a small knife.
  • 6. Bake for about 30 minutes, just until the edges have set but the center will still be a bit soft. Let cool completely on wire rack in pan before unmolding and cutting into squares. The brownies will be too soft while hot and will break apart if you move it or slice into it too soon.

Notes

Store at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Adapted from Handle The Heat blog

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